Red Lobster, Chicken of the Sea Will No Longer Buy Spiny Lobsters from Honduras' Dive Fishery

SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh - March 3, 2015

Red Lobster, Chicken of the Sea, Harbor Seafood, Netuno USA and Interamerican Trading Product will no longer buy Honduran spiny lobsters harvested by scuba divers. At the same time the country has issued a four-month ban on spiny lobster fishing in the Carribbean Sea.

The companies issued a letter to Honduras' Ministry of Agriculture declaring their intent to no longer purchase any spiny lobsters from the dive fishery. The decision was in response to ...

NE Fisheries Summit Asks if Thousands of tons of Fish Left in Water, Where Are They?

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Cape Cod Times] By Doug Fraser - March 3, 2015 -

BOSTON, The big windows at the University of Massachusetts Club, 33 floors up into the Boston skyline, filled like bright blue boxes of a cloudless sky that descended into Boston Harbor. It felt like the world had turned a corner and a long winter was finally drawing to a close.

The fishermen, scientists, fishery regulators and environmentalists who slogged through slushy streets and half-cleared sidewalks below could only wish that the summit they were attending Monday had a similar sunny prospect. But this was not a meeting to announce some dramatic turnaround for the beleaguered New England fishing industry. This was a rallying of the troops in advance of a new fishing year in May that promised deeper gloom than the one just past.

For the 2015 fishing year, for instance, the Gulf of Maine cod quota has been reduced from 1,550 metric tons to just 386 metric tons. In 1991, fishermen caught more than 17,000 metric tons.

“If we are going to advance, then we are all in this together,” U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., told the audience. “The myth we have to break down is that this is an industry that doesn’t appreciate the science. They live it, they see it, and they could be more important partners...

Two of the defendants in a lawsuit filed by Quinlan Brothers Ltd. say they have not misappropriated private company information, and that the plaintiff has itself disclosed some of the information in question in the past.

Quinlan’s, based in Bay de Verde, is suing former employees Brian and Shelley Collier and Cold North Seafoods — owned by the Daley Brothers — for $1 million.

Quinlan’s alleges the defendants have “misappropriated, disclosed and made improper use” of “confidential information and trade secrets.

On Friday, Supreme Court Justice George Murphy issued a temporary order against Brian and Shelley Collier and Cold North Seafoods preventing them from carrying out any further development of the automatic crab butchering machine in question...

The 2015 Seafood Expo North America in Boston offers retailers the chance to haul in a boatload of new products and merchandising ideas.

One could spend years sailing the seven seas looking for the latest in seafood products and trends, but an easier option is to simply drop anchor at the 2015 Seafood Expo North America being held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center from March 15–17.

According to show organizers, this year’s convention is shaping up to be another record-breaking event, exceeding 200,000-square-feet of sold exhibit space housing more than 1,100 exhibiting companies, with more than 20,000 attendees expected.

Louisiana oyster lease rates, the possible impact of proposed sediment diversions on the crop, and the potential for lifting a moratorium on new private leases and opening up additional oyster cultivation areas all were discussed in a report released Monday (March 2) by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera.

Louisiana has the second-lowest rate for oyster leases and one of the lowest lease application fees among the top six states that produce Eastern oysters, which is the type of oyster that Louisiana produces. The other state oyster lease programs examined in the study conducted by the Legislative Auditor's performance audit section were Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

There are 402,579 acres privately leased in Louisiana, and there are 666,457 acres of additional state-owned water bottoms that would be available and suitable for lease if the state moratorium on issuing new oyster leases were lifted, according to the audit.

It is time for the government of Canada to partner with the American and Nova Scotian governments in passing legislation to extend the Canadian moratorium through 2022.

To do otherwise will endanger the spirit of co-operation that has developed between the U.S. and Canada in the management of this rich and sensitive marine area. Federal support for the current moratorium on Georges Bank expires in 2015.

At a recent workshop, stakeholders from Ecuador's fisheries sector discussed a review of the export policy for green products of Ecuador, commissioned by UNCTAD, and a draft National Action Plan for the fisheries sector.

The second workshop on Ecuador's National Green Export Review -- focusing on the issue of sustainability -- was organized by UNCTAD and the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Trade in Manta, Ecuador on 23 February.

Participants included representatives from the fisheries private sector, the Ministries of Environment, of Agriculture and of Foreign Trade, international non-governmental organizations, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature WWF, and local fishermen's associations.

Participants discussed and validated the strategic guides and actions required to achieve the goals set in the National Green Exports Review of Ecuador.

The validated Action Plan for the development of sustainable fisheries in Ecuador identifies by who, by when and how different actions need to be performed in order to achieve two specific objectives between 2015 and 2019, namely:

March is Frozen Food Month and Fulton Market Fish Distributor M. Slavin & Sons is taking advantage of the month's designation and February's brutal winter weather to promote frozen seafood at the market.

For most of February ice, cold temperatures and strong winds racked the fishing industry in the Northeast and in Canada. Up and down the northern coast lobster and other fishing boats were frozen in their harbors, unable to harvest. Those vessels that could get out were unable to catch much in gale force winds.

The overall decline in the fishing effort last month kept lobster, shellfish and fresh supplies sparse. Prices for many of these items shot up in February, some to record monthly highs.

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., Mark Abraham, who has fished the New England coast for decades, kept a sharp eye on his catch as the slimy haddock spilled onto a dockside conveyor belt. He had just returned from 10 frigid days at sea, among the most brutal he has spent...

A local seafood company is investing $3 million this year to modernize and expand its operations, conduct applied research and demonstrate its belief that the industry’s future is bright.

One-third of the funding will go into equipping a new lobster pound in the former National Sea Products building that the company recently purchased.

“Our weather is changing so much,” said Dannie Hansen, a senior team leader with Louisbourg Seafoods. “The water is getting warmer and it’s so uncertain, and the demand for high-quality product in our lobsters, and the Nova Scotia high-quality brand, requires the right type of housing for that species...

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Strong US Dollar Softens Blow of Weak Shrimp Market for Indonesian, Indian Suppliers

SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh - March 3, 2015

Over the last year the shrimp market in the US has lost about a quarter of its value. In that same time, the overall strength of the US Dollar increased compared to most currencies in the world. This strengthening of the dollar in 2014 helped soften the blow of the year-long decline in shrimp prices for major shrimp suppliers India and Indonesia.

Last month Urner Barry's White Shrimp Index averaged $4.72 per pound. This was the lowest monthly average for the Index since mid-2013. Between January 2014 and February 2015 this was a 25 percent decline in the Index's average monthly price.

Prices fell for much of 2014 as overseas production returned from EMS declines in recent years. US shrimp imports hit their third highest volume in history at over 1.2 billion pounds...

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – March means even more fisheries are underway out on the grounds. Lots of updates after this

Alaska’s biggest fisheries begin in January and March brings even more boats to the fishing grounds.

Notably, hundreds of boats are geared up for big state waters cod openers this week throughout the Gulf of Alaska. Dock talk pegs the cod price at 35 cents at Kodiak.

Pollock fishing is ongoing in the Gulf and Bering Sea, along with other groundfish fisheries. Crabbing also continues in the Bering Sea – the snow crab fleet has taken 65% of their 61 million pound catch; and about 5 million pounds remain in the 15 million pound Tanner crab catch...

Three recently retired senior federal agents expressed concern last week about the lack of resources to investigate the black market fishing industry in meeting sponsored by WWF.

Their message came weeks before the Obama administration is expected to issue recommendations to better combat seafood fraud and what is known as "IUU," or illegal, unreported and unregulated fish.

"There are more people in this room thinking about IUU than doing IUU [investigations]," Scott Doyle, former assistant special agent in charge of the Northeast region for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said to a group of people gathered at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C.

As of December 2014, NOAA had 93 special investigators nationwide — fewer than the number of officers in the Ocean City Police Department. The number of agents trained to uncover complex seafood fraud has declined by more than a third since 2008.

The United States, one of the largest fish importers in the world, helps to drive illegal fishing across the world, according to Michele Kuruc, the World Wildlife Fund's vice president for marine policy....

Seatrade Installs New Icelandic IQF Scallop Processing Line in Lakeville

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] March 3, 2015

Seatrade International has completed the purchase and installation of a new IQF scallop processing line.

The amonia system, manufactured by Skaginn in Iceland, has a capacity of 6000 lbs of scallops per hour.

Robert Blais, Director of Seatrade International, said “We selected Skaginn's IQF processing line because we were looking for an ammonia based system that delivered a high quality product at the best per pound cost. Skaginn exceeded our expectations.”

Sigurður “Siggi” Skúlason, Sales and Engineering executive at Skaginn, said “Seatrade came to us with very specific requirements for production and quality...

While shippers and businesses using West Coast ports struggled during months of slowdowns, East Coast ports picked up diverted cargo. The bad news for the West Coast is that it's likely some of that cargo will remain in the east.

The biggest East Coast ports had 10.2 percent more growth than the biggest West Coast ports in the fourth quarter of
2014, compared to a 1.6 percent difference from the year before.

In the quarter before the slowdowns began, West Coast ports had more growth than East Coast ports.

One of the most hotly debated issues at this year's Board of Fisheries meeting was voted down Sunday morning.

Board members unanimously opposed Proposal 176 filed by the Chum Trollers Association that called for changes to the enhanced salmon allocation plan in Southeast.

The Chum Trollers Association said in its proposal that trollers aren't getting their share of hatchery salmon based on a plan put in place in 1994, and that the board should direct the Northern Regional Planning Teams, the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association and Douglas Island Pink and Chum to develop a new management plan.

PNG, Marshall Islands To Test New Electronic Catch Documentation System

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [PACNews] - March 3, 2015 -

SYDNEY, The Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority (NFA) will initiate full-scale trials of an innovative catch documentation system (eCDS) for on-board fisheries observers.

The new system, which uses near real-time data through Android tablets and satellite transmitters, is expected to 'enhance the quality, reliability, and timeliness of critical fisheries information, and will considerably improve the management of tuna stocks,' the World Wildlife Fund said.

WWF contributed funding to purchase the equipment used for the observer eCDS system.

The system includes electronic forms that can be used to cross reference and validate catch and effort, particularly with respect to the vessel day scheme where vessel owners can purchase and trade days fishing at sea in places subject to Nauru Agreement.